E-commerce has been exploding in popularity and continues to grow as a preferred shopping choice for consumers as well as small businesses. In fact, e-Commerce sales are projected to reach 7.4 trillion dollars by 2025.

However, this growing popularity comes with associated risks. E-Commerce is an appealing target for hackers for a number of reasons, including the significant amount of sensitive information that is transmitted during transactions and the potential for monetary gain from targeting individual accounts. This has led to an increase in cybersecurity awareness by up to 97% in the past year.

Hackers will continue to target e-Commerce sites until businesses take necessary precautions to protect their data and users. You need to understand how cybercriminals can attack your business so you can take actionable steps to defend against them before it’s too late.

Why e-Commerce is a target for hackers

Large enterprises and e-Commerce businesses are frequent targets for cybercriminals because they store large amounts of sensitive data. This information can include credit card information, addresses, phone numbers, usernames, passwords, banking information, and other valuable data that can be used for malicious purposes. 

E-Commerce sites are also attractive targets because they are often built on older technologies that have not been upgraded to keep up with current security standards. In fact, e-Commerce sites tend to have more vulnerabilities than websites built for other purposes.

These vulnerabilities can be exploited to make unsecured web traffic even riskier. E-Commerce businesses are also attractive targets because they generate a significant amount of revenue, which can be a motivating factor for hackers looking to make a quick profit.

Hackers may be able to steal thousands of dollars in a single day or less by targeting thousands of accounts and completing one-click purchases. An e-Commerce business could also be at risk because a hacker may be looking to settle a score with one of their customers. Unfortunately with all this happening only 10% of businesses have a high budget for cybersecurity despite the looming threat.

Steps to protect your e-Commerce business

Start by implementing a robust cybersecurity strategy and reviewing your current network security setup. Make sure that your network is equipped with security alerts and automated protections against malicious activity, like firewalls and other network security tools.

As part of your cybersecurity strategy, you should also perform regular system maintenance to make sure your network is running efficiently and without any issues that could compromise network security.

Once your network is up to date and running smoothly, you can turn your attention to website security. Because website security can vary based on the type of website you run, you should put together a cybersecurity plan that covers all of your bases.

To start, you should understand the different types of attacks that are most common in e-Commerce businesses. This will help you create a cybersecurity strategy based on the specific types of attacks that could affect your business. So, without further ado, here are reasons to invest in cyber security.

• To protect sensitive data from hackers

Put in place a data privacy policy to identify which data you collect from your customers’ devices such as mobile phones and why you need that data. You should also outline how you will store and protect that data to keep it safe from malicious hackers.

It is important to know how to protect data that is shared from your clients. With more than 90% of the internet population using mobile devices to access the internet, it means that hackers are likely to target mobile users.

To be able to protect your customers from being hacked you need to have an effective mobile app security tool in place. You can read more here about mobile app security tools and protect your mobile device users from preying hackers.

You implement data encryption to protect sensitive data in transit. This means that any data being sent between two points (like your website and a customer’s computer) is scrambled so it cannot be read or altered in transit. 

• To have safe credit card transactions

All e-commerce financial transactions happen through the use of credit cards. As an e-Commerce owner, you need to have safe credit card transactions so that you can sell your products with confidence.

If you want to create an e-Commerce website, make sure that the information about your customers is stored securely and in a secure environment. Make sure that your customer’s credit card details are encrypted and stored in a secure manner or use a secure financial partner.

Using trusted financial platforms such as Juni ensures that your customers credit card details are secured. If you are wondering how to become a Juni credit card affiliate you can have a look at their affiliate program. 

• To have safer stronger password security

One of the most common and effective attacks on e-Commerce sites is password-related hacks. This can include brute force attacks, where malicious software attempts to guess passwords, or malicious software designed specifically to steal passwords.

To protect your passwords, you should start by following these basic rules: 

• Use a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters in your passwords (like #, $, & %) 
• Avoid using the same password for all your log-in accounts
• Use a password manager to store all your passwords in one place.
  

• Use SSL protection

An SSL certificate protects your website from malicious hackers trying to steal sensitive data like credit card information, login details, and other private information. Using SSL certificates prevents man-in-the-middle attacks that can compromise sensitive data.

This type of attack occurs when malicious software is installed on computers and acts as a middleman between your website and customers. This software is installed by hackers who want to redirect traffic to a different website and steal sensitive information in the process.

While SSL protection isn’t a foolproof solution, it will help to minimize these types of attacks. SSL certificates are widely used in e-Commerce businesses and are fairly inexpensive.

• Utilize 2-step verification

If you’re storing sensitive data or logging a significant amount of traffic through your website, you should consider enabling two-step verification (also known as two-factor authentication or 2FA).

With 2FA, you’ll be prompted to enter a special code after you enter your login information. 2FA is a helpful tool that is especially useful if you’re managing multiple accounts. This can help to prevent malicious hackers from gaining access to all of your accounts if they are able to breach one account.

It will also help to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, where a hacker may pose as a legitimate user logging into your account from another computer.

• Monitor user behavior

If you run an online e-Commerce business, you may want to consider monitoring your users’ behaviors to see how they interact with your site. This will help you detect abnormal or suspicious activity, which could indicate a breach or attack.

You use software designed to track user behavior to monitor the following: 

• IP addresses – Look for any IP address that logs into your site more than once, as this may indicate a hacker has breached your site
• Login times – Look for login times that fall outside normal business hours
• Browser types – Look for browser types other than the ones your site is intended for

• User awareness and education

Resist the urge to skimp on cybersecurity measures in favor of cutting corners elsewhere. It’s important to remember that cybersecurity is a continuous effort and you need to find ways to stay one step ahead of malicious hackers.

This is difficult to do on your own, which is why it’s critical to hire an experienced cybersecurity company to help protect your e-Commerce business. In addition to partnering with a cybersecurity firm, you should also consider implementing an education and training strategy to help protect your users.

This includes hosting seminars or workshops to help educate staff members on cybersecurity best practices like avoiding phishing scams and staying up to date on current cybersecurity threats.

• Breached accounts

If your e-Commerce business is breached, you can expect the situation to get worse before it gets better. It’s important to take action as soon as you discover a breach, but you also need to be prepared for the fallout.

Mitigate the damage as soon as you discover a breach. This includes removing malicious software from your network and changing login credentials for all sensitive accounts, such as your e-Commerce account.

During a breach, you should also be ready for the worst. Make sure to have a plan in place for what to do if any sensitive data is compromised. This includes notifying customers and taking steps to minimize damage by contacting banks and credit card companies.

• Hackers are getting smarter

As technology evolves, so do hackers. Hackers are getting smarter, and they’re using more advanced techniques to compromise systems. The good news is that when you hire an experienced cybersecurity firm, your business will be protected.

Cybersecurity experts help identify potential e-Commerce threats and recommend security measures to minimize the risk, such as encrypting your e-Commerce account and encrypting all sensitive data.

In the digital world, data is the most valuable resource. You need to protect your data from hackers, thieves and other cybercriminals.

• Data is now the world’s biggest resource. 

You need to protect your data from hackers, thieves and other cybercriminals. The best way to protect your business is to use a cloud-based service such as Microsoft Azure or AWS to manage all of your digital assets, including data on the web, email and social media channels.

With a cybersecurity system in place such as an Azure subscription you can deploy a variety of services to manage all of these assets, such as Microsoft Office 365 or Amazon Web Services. You can also deploy a variety of servers with Windows Server which can be used for both hosting and running services on Azure.

Final Thoughts on e-Commerce

Cybersecurity threats to e-Commerce are on the rise, and it’s important to take steps to protect your business. You start by implementing a robust cybersecurity strategy and following best practices to protect your website, data, and users.

Even though e-Commerce has its drawbacks, it is a growing trend and offers many benefits to both customers and business owners. With the right cybersecurity strategies, you protect your customers and your business from malicious hackers and keep the e-Commerce trend going for years to come.

Author bio: Cosmas Mwirigi

Cosmas alias Cosii-Riggz is a technology enthusiast and SAAS writer who helps clients understand products by explaining services for businesses.

He has been featured in websites such as PV Magazine and Bitcoin Kenya. During his free time, he likes traveling to new places and exploring what’s new on the internet.